Video: Procession opens the papal conclave; Update: Embed fixed

posted at 11:21 am on March 12, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

(VATICAN CITY) After weeks of discussion and debate, the papal conclave begins today with the procession of 115 cardinal electors of the Roman Catholic Church from the Pauline Chapel to the Sistine Chapel, expected to last an hour until the declaration of “Extra omnes” — “everyone else out!” — and the clanging of the doors. At that point, the decision rests on the cardinals and the will of God. I’ll embed the NBC News live video feed, as they’re supposed to broadcast this live:

NBC also has brief profiles of their top ten list of papabili, which makes for a handy scorecard, even when we’re not even sure whether these are really the players. As I say in an interview later in this post, handicapping this process is a bit like attempting to guess a Super Bowl winner in September by reviewing what the players eat for breakfast. You may guess right, but it’s probably just luck.

If we know little about the minds of the College of Cardinals, we know much more about the procession. It begins at 11:30 and should last one hour. If the NBC feed doesn’t work (and I’ll be checking it), the procession will be streamed live by the Vatican. The cardinals enter in groups by order: the Order of Bishops, the Order of Presbyters, and Order of Deacons. The first cardinal in procession will be Cardinal Giovanni Re, and last will be Cardinal James Harvey, one of the newest raised to the College, chosen as cardinal by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in November 2012.

Today’s schedule will differ from the norm over the next few days, given the late start. After the procession ends at 5:30 local time, the cardinals will take their vows of secrecy, have a meditation period, and potentially take a vote today — although the Vatican informed us yesterday that a vote is not necessarily required on the first day. The day ends in the Sistine Chapel with vespers (evening prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours), transfer back to the Domus Santae Marthae, and dinner at 8 pm. We’ll supposedly get a heads-up if the vote is skipped in favor of an early retirement, otherwise we’ll be waiting in the media center until deep in the evening.

Tomorrow and succeeding days, the schedule gets firmer:

6:30-7:30: Breakfast

7:45: Transfer to the Pauline Chapel

8:15: Mass

9:30 Discussion and voting in the Sistine Chapel (2 ballots)

12:30 Transfer to Domus Santae Marthae

13:00 Lunch

16:00 Transfer to the Palazzo Apostolico

16:50 Voting in the Sistine Chapel (2 ballots)

19:15 Vespers

19:30 Transfer to Domus Santae Marthae

20:00 Dinner

In other words, most days we’ll have a lid on by around 7. Of course, no one expects this to go more than a few days, so this may not be in play for long.

George Weigel talked about the battle between reformers and institutional maintenance in his spot for NBC News last night. For a different — but not exclusive — perspective on these issues, I interviewed veteran Vatican analyst Fr. Thomas Reese of Georgetown University and National Catholic Reporter earlier today:

Reese has an article up today at NCR discussing the two different types of “reform” proposed, and which is more likely to be addressed by an incoming Pope:

Many of the cardinals are looking for a pope who can reform the Vatican curia, but it is not clear what they mean by “reform.” “Reform” is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.

I would distinguish between two types of reform: 1) Better management, 2) Comprehensive reform.

Speaking about reforming the curia is like speaking about reforming the U.S. tax code. Everyone is for it until it affects them.

Even members of the Roman curia speak about the need for reform, but for a curial cardinal, reform means he gets more power and his opponent in another office gets less. For conservatives, reform means having a strong curia that speaks with one voice in imposing the Vatican’s vision on the rest of the church. For moderates, reform means a decentralization of power and more collegiality. In other words, you cannot reform the curia until you know what you want it to do.

When you hear of “reform,” just realize that it’s a word that carries several meanings and contexts here at the Vatican. Be sure to read it all, and also read his suggestion that Americans should learn a lesson from conclaves in dealing with Congress … especially a certain 13th-century conclave.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

I wish I was able to kick back and watch this…a historical, impressive and quite beautiful thing. One would be hard pressed to find a more spectacular surrounding. May the Holy Spirit guide the cardinals well during this conclave.

I’m not Catholic, so pardon my ignorance, but what’s with all the ceremony? Can’t someone just step up to the mike and make an announcement. Honestly, no disrespect…I’m just asking.
Hat Trick on March 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM

Way back when, popes used to be buy-able. The locking of doors (and in today’s age, jamming of signals) ensures little outside interference.

What is the proper way to celebrate a papal conclave? Pizza? Pasta? Chianti? A little fish soup? Or, a really nice antipasto* platter?

*I think it was Christopher Hitchens who pointed out that serving an antipasto platter was a way for Catholics/Christians to determine if someone was “secretly” Jewish or Muslim, as they would not eat the pork products.

Can’t someone just step up to the mike and make an announcement. Honestly, no disrespect…I’m just asking.

Hat Trick on March 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM

Hey, why not let them openly campaign for the job? Even put up posters (ex. Cardinal Giovanni puts the Re in Do Re Mi) and bake cupcakes. /

Honestly, I’m not trying to come off too snarky but you don’t mess with a rite that has been practiced for centuries albeit with adaptation for change. I imagine some of it seems overkill when the process has pretty much boiled down to days not weeks or months. The conclave is more akin to a board of directors meeting choosing a new CEO. I found it interesting that along with the sealed doors they’ve deployed jammers to disrupt cell service within the area of the conclave.

Both the bible and tradition are big parts of the RC Church…the process of choosing the next pope goes back for quite a long time.

JetBoy on March 12, 2013 at 11:44 AM

Yep.. Ed pointed out that he was able to go to Mass in Rome and could follow it because it is the same everywhere. And yep. There are really strict rules and traditions because they’ve been doing this forever.

You can be notified via text and email when the new pontiff is announced. Even though they say there’s been an incredibly high volume of text announcement requests, I submitted my cell number and was enrolled, so don’t let that deter you. :)

You can be notified via text and email when the new pontiff is announced. Even though they say there’s been an incredibly high volume of text announcement requests, I submitted my cell number and was enrolled, so don’t let that deter you. :)

PatriotGal2257 on March 12, 2013 at 12:04 PM

heh, I got it :)

It would be great if my phone could give off white or black smoke too…but that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

*I think it was Christopher Hitchens who pointed out that serving an antipasto platter was a way for Catholics/Christians to determine if someone was “secretly” Jewish or Muslim, as they would not eat the pork products.

Fallon on March 12, 2013 at 11:50 AM

I’ve frequently wondered if that’s not the reason ham is so closely associated with Easter. Easter and Passover are usually in close proximity. (This year Passover begins the Monday before Holy Friday.) I’ve read of instances when entire villages would carry the Easter ham to the church on Holy Saturday to be specially blessed for the Easter meal. On the other hand, Easter comes at the end of winter when all most people had left to eat was meat they had preserved the previous fall, and the ham might have been the last bit of meat left in the pantry.

I am very, very non-religious, but I appreciate all the ceremony and tradition that goes into choosing a pope.

Yes, during the past couple thousand years, the papacy was frequently bought and sold. But, remember: Until the mid-1800s, the Pope was not only a religious leader but also a temporal one. There was a time when the Papal States were nearly half the land mass of Italy, and the Pope led armies just the same as kings, dukes and other landed gentry. Unlike the temporal lords of the land, Popes supposedly had no heirs to hand their titles and lands to. (During the medieval period, lots of Popes had lots of children; the children were unable to inherit the Papal States although several Popes were able to buy lands and titles for their offspring that had no connection to the Papacy.)So, yes, there was a lot of wheeling and dealing to grab the Papacy.

Easter and Passover are usually in close proximity. (This year Passover begins the Monday before Holy Friday.)

catsandbooks on March 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM

Usually in close proximity? You do realize that the Last Supper is thought to have been a Passover feast, right? I’m not trying to be insulting just clearing things up for the low-informations who see words like usually and get confused.

In determining the date of the Gregorian and Julian Easter a lunisolar cycle is followed. In determining the date of the Jewish Passover a lunisolar calendar is also used, and because Easter always falls on a Sunday it usually falls up to a week after the first day of Passover (Nisan 15 in the Hebrew calendar). However, the differences in the rules between the Hebrew and Gregorian cycles results in Passover falling about a month after Easter in three years of the 19-year cycle. These occur in years 3, 11, and 14 of the Gregorian 19-year cycle (corresponding respectively to years 19, 8, and 11 of the Jewish 19-year cycle).

The reason for the difference is the different scheduling of embolismic months in the two cycles.
Further information: computus

In addition, without changes to either calendar, the frequency of monthly divergence between the two festivals will increase over time as a result of the differences in the implicit solar years: the implicit mean solar year of the Hebrew calendar is 365.2468 days while that of the Gregorian calendar is 365.2425 days. In years 2200–2299, for example, the start of Passover will be about a month later than Gregorian Easter in four years out of nineteen.

Since in the modern Hebrew calendar Nisan 15 can never fall on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, the seder of Nisan 15 never falls on the night of Maundy Thursday. The second seder, observed in some Jewish communities on the second night of Passover can, however, occur on Thursday night.[citation needed]

Because the Julian calendar’s implicit solar year has drifted further over the centuries than those of the Gregorian or Hebrew calendars, Julian Easter is a lunation later than Gregorian Easter in five years out of nineteen, namely years 3, 8, 11, 14, and 19 of the Christian cycle. This means that it is a lunation later than Jewish Passover in two years out of nineteen, years 8 and 19 of the Christian cycle. Furthermore, because the Julian calendar’s lunar age is now about four to five days behind the mean lunations, Julian Easter always follows the start of Passover. This cumulative effect of the errors in the Julian calendar’s solar year and lunar age has led to the often-repeated, but false, belief that the Julian cycle includes an explicit rule requiring Easter always to follow Jewish Passover.[77][78] The supposed “after Passover” rule is called the Zonaras proviso, after Joannes Zonaras, the Byzantine canon lawyer who may have been the first to formulate it.[79][80]

I’m not Catholic, so pardon my ignorance, but what’s with all the ceremony? Can’t someone just step up to the mike and make an announcement. Honestly, no disrespect…I’m just asking.

Hat Trick on March 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM

The reason is to take whatever reasonable measures are necessary to ensure the integrity of the vote. Choosing a pope is a huge responsibility and the college wants to make sure that every pope publicly swear that they will use sound judgment in their decision.

It’s much like giving an oath on the witness stand during a trial vs. simply making a statement.

You can be notified via text and email when the new pontiff is announced. Even though they say there’s been an incredibly high volume of text announcement requests, I submitted my cell number and was enrolled, so don’t let that deter you. :)

PatriotGal2257 on March 12, 2013 at 12:04 PM

And get automatically signed up for future “Organizing for Catholicism” fundraising campaigns? No thank you! ;0

It would be great if my phone could give off white or black smoke too…but that probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

JetBoy on March 12, 2013 at 12:08 PM

That would be cool but it brings up an interesting question. How do you go about announcing something like this in the new media? A text message of Habemus Papam! seems a little stark.

Growing up, we’d go to my grandmother’s for Easter dinner, which was usually leg of lamb.

JetBoy on March 12, 2013 at 12:22 PM

I think it depends on where you are from, and where your people are from. The stories about entire villages taking their hams to church came from Germany.

Here in Nebraska, lamb is very, very seldom eaten. My husband, a good Nebraska boy, won’t eat lamb for love nor money. My doctor, a native Jordanian, once asked me if I knew where his wife could buy a decent leg of lamb. (I suggested Whole Food, although I’ve never bought lamb there.) One year, for Easter, my kids and I took up a collection in order to buy a leg of lamb to accompany the obligatory ham. It turned out pretty bad, and everyone but my husband and my son-in-law — another good Nebraska boy — were very disappointed.

I thought I heard one of the Cardinals say “Next up dominos” and everyone left. I guess they didn’t want to play. :-)

simkeith on March 12, 2013 at 12:36 PM

My mother (a Presbyterian) attended Mass with a friend when she was a child (1930′s or so). She told her mom that all she understood was something about “Does anyone want to play dominoes?” “Yes, we all want to play dominoes.” Apparently, they are still asking that question, lol.

One year, for Easter, my kids and I took up a collection in order to buy a leg of lamb to accompany the obligatory ham. It turned out pretty bad, and everyone but my husband and my son-in-law — another good Nebraska boy — were very disappointed.

catsandbooks on March 12, 2013 at 12:37 PM

IMO, lamb is like turkey when people only cook it once a year for a holiday. It is tough to do it well. And even with that, lamb has a strong enough flavor it isn’t to everybody’s taste.

So, when I take my coworkers’ lunch order today, I can now tell the ditherers “Come on, man. You’re trying to choose a sandwich, not the next pope! Hurry up and make a decision already!” and have them understand the reference.

You can be notified via text and email when the new pontiff is announced. Even though they say there’s been an incredibly high volume of text announcement requests, I submitted my cell number and was enrolled, so don’t let that deter you. :)

PatriotGal2257 on March 12, 2013 at 12:04 PM

Thanks I signed up. I got a welcome text instantly that reminded me to pray for the Cardinals. The email was about 4 minutes later.

This is a service provided by FOCUS or Fellowship of Catholic University Students. For those concerned about landing on some sort of marketing list, here is what they say about that:

* It is the policy of FOCUS to never sell anyone’s contact information to a third-party.

** Text notifications are only available for mobile numbers in the U.S.

*** Upon subscribing to the service, you will receive a confirmation message based on your selection above.

I think it depends on where you are from, and where your people are from. The stories about entire villages taking their hams to church came from Germany.

Here in Nebraska, lamb is very, very seldom eaten. My husband, a good Nebraska boy, won’t eat lamb for love nor money. My doctor, a native Jordanian, once asked me if I knew where his wife could buy a decent leg of lamb. (I suggested Whole Food, although I’ve never bought lamb there.) One year, for Easter, my kids and I took up a collection in order to buy a leg of lamb to accompany the obligatory ham. It turned out pretty bad, and everyone but my husband and my son-in-law — another good Nebraska boy — were very disappointed.

catsandbooks on March 12, 2013 at 12:37 PM

I’ve noticed that most people either love lamb, or can’t stand it. My sis and uncle want nothing to do with leg of lamb, while for me it’s a treat…not complete without a side of mint jelly :), as like you said, how often am I going to cook one at home. There’s a old time fancy restaurant I’ve taken a few dates to, and they make really good baby lamb chops over couscous. But I digress :)

And yeah, I’m spoiled being in and around NYC, with a few good butchers who carry it. I haven’t really seen much lamb leg in any of the chain supermarkets tho.

IMO, lamb is like turkey when people only cook it once a year for a holiday. It is tough to do it well. And even with that, lamb has a strong enough flavor it isn’t to everybody’s taste.

Happy Nomad on March 12, 2013 at 12:46 PM

I cook roasted turkey a few times during the year, and as good a cook as I am *blush* I won’t even try roasting a leg of lamb. My grandmother was an awesome cook (she worked for years cooking at a Catholic retreat house) and I’m sorry I didn’t get pointers from her before she passed away…she also made the best fried chicken, in a big ol’ iron skillet…slow-cooked….

Easter and Passover are usually in close proximity. (This year Passover begins the Monday before Holy Friday.)

catsandbooks on March 12, 2013 at 12:10 PM

Usually in close proximity? You do realize that the Last Supper is thought to have been a Passover feast, right? I’m not trying to be insulting just clearing things up for the low-informations who see words like usually and get confused.

Happy Nomad on March 12, 2013 at 12:30 PM

Usually, but not always. Yes, I know that the Last Supper was supposed to be the Passover meal, but there are times when the two are way off.

I seem to rememberthat there was a time in Europe when the Jews were forbidden to celebrate Passover prior to Easter. This ban was part of the over all anti-Semitism of Christendom during midieval times. (I could also be totally wrong. It’s been a long time since I was last in a classroom.)

I also signed up for Adopt a Cardinal which assigns you a cardinal to pray for as he participates in the conclave.

PatriotGal2257 on March 12, 2013 at 1:07 PM

The local news featured a parochial school 8th grade class. They’ve all signed up for Adopt a Cardinal but the stakes are higher than just a new leader of their faith. If “their” Cardinal becomes Pope, they are exempt from any written homework for the remainder of the school year. Talk about a motivation to pray!

I’m of Lebanese descent on my mom’s side and my aunt, a superb cook who taught me everything I know about cooking, never used lamb in the Middle Eastern recipes she regularly made. She used only the best cuts of beef to make kibbe, stuffed grape leaves and the like. Her opinion about lamb was that it was too rangey for her tastes.

Had this conclave taken place many years ago when I was in Catholic elementary school, some of the nuns I had for class would have said “Tough luck, kid. I don’t care whether your cardinal became pope. Your 8-page report is due tomorrow.”

I’m not Catholic, so pardon my ignorance, but what’s with all the ceremony? Can’t someone just step up to the mike and make an announcement. Honestly, no disrespect…I’m just asking. – Hat Trick on March 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM

It is all grand theater and tradition. It is the Catholic way of doing things for centuries. I certainly have no objections.